The Chain Mediating Effect of Anxiety and Inhibitory Control and the Moderating Effect of Physical Activity Between Bullying Victimization and Internet Addiction in Chinese Adolescents

Mobile phone addiction was the mediator and physical activity was the moderator between bullying victimization and sleep quality

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Bullying victimization is strongly associated with sleep quality issues in primary school students, yet the underlying mechanisms among these variables require further exploration. This study investigates the mediating role of mobile phone addiction and the moderating role of physical activity in the relationship between bullying victimization and sleep quality among primary school students, contributing to a deeper understanding of these psychological processes.

METHODS

This study utilized a convenience sampling method to recruit 502 primary school students in 2023. The sample included 232 boys and 270 girls, with ages ranging from 10 to 12 years (mean age = 11.15 ± 0.62). Participants were recruited from specific region or school district to ensure a diverse representation of the target population. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant institutional review board, and informed consent was obtained from both the students and their parents or guardians prior to data collection.

RESULTS

Bullying victimization was significantly positively correlated with both sleep quality issues and mobile phone addiction. Additionally, mobile phone addiction was significantly positively correlated with sleep quality issues. The analysis confirmed that mobile phone addiction mediates the relationship between bullying victimization and sleep quality. Furthermore, physical activity was found to moderate the relationship between bullying victimization and mobile phone addiction.

CONCLUSIONS

This study elucidates the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between bullying victimization and sleep quality among primary school students. Mobile phone addiction serves as a mediating factor, while physical activity acts as a moderating factor in the link between bullying victimization and mobile phone addiction. These findings underscore the importance of addressing mobile phone addiction and promoting physical activity as part of targeted interventions to improve sleep quality among primary school students.

Anxiety and inhibitory control play a chain mediating role between compassion fatigue and Internet addiction disorder among nursing staff

Mental health problems among nurses are prevalent and harmful. Nurses worldwide have encountered serious mental health issues. Although fatigue has been proven to lead to substance abuse or addictive behaviors (such as internet addiction), there is a lack of sufficient data on whether there is a connection with compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is a common mental health problem in helping professions. Anxiety and inhibitory control have been demonstrated to be associated with internet addiction, but the mediating role between them in the state of compassion fatigue remains to be further explored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the chain-mediating effect of anxiety and inhibitory control between compassion fatigue and internet addiction in the nurse population. From July to August 2024, a questionnaire survey was conducted using a convenience sampling method in 7 hospitals in Hunan Province, China. A total of 516 front-line clinical nurses were included, among whom 17 were male and 499 were female. Subjective data on compassion fatigue, internet addiction, anxiety, and inhibitory control were collected and analyzed. SPSS 26.0 and its PROCESS macro-plugin were used for data analysis. After controlling for age and gender, compassion fatigue was found to be a significant predictor of internet addiction (β = 0.40, P < 0.001). However, when anxiety and inhibitory control were added, the prediction of compassion fatigue on internet addiction in the nurse population remained significant (β = 0.18, P < 0.001). Eventually, the research results show that compassion fatigue can predict internet addiction through anxiety and inhibitory control. It is recommended that nursing managers provide appropriate emotional interventions for nurses with compassion fatigue or adjust the shift-scheduling and leave system to prevent the occurrence of internet addiction.

Association between internet addiction and insomnia among college freshmen: the chain mediation effect of emotion regulation and anxiety and the moderating role of gender

BACKGROUND

The advancement of the information age has led to the widespread use of the internet, accompanied by numerous internet-related issues that often correlate with various physical and mental health conditions, particularly among college freshmen. We examined the relationship between internet addiction (IA) and insomnia among these students, using emotion regulation (ER) and anxiety as mediators and gender as a moderating variable.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 7,353 freshmen from a university in Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, China. Data were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire, including the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Emotion Regulation subscale (ER), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 21.0 and PROCESS version 4.1 to test the hypothesized relationships among variables.

RESULTS

In our survey, correlation analysis showed that ER was significantly negatively correlated with IA, anxiety, and insomnia; IA was significantly positively correlated with anxiety and insomnia (all p < 0.01). The mediating effect analysis indicated that IA was a significant positive predictor of insomnia. ER and anxiety played a chain - mediating role in the development of insomnia (β = 0.039, 95% confidence interval = 0.035-0.043). The moderating effect analysis showed that the interaction term of IA and gender had a significant negative predictive effect on ER (β = -0.014, 95% confidence interval [-0.027, -0.001]) and insomnia (β = -0.022, 95% confidence interval [-0.036, -0.007]). Males (direct effect: β = 0.048, 95% confidence interval = [0.037, 0.059]) had a stronger predictive ability for the level of insomnia than females (direct effect: β = 0.026, 95% confidence interval = [0.014, 0.037]). Females (indirect effect 1: β = 0.015, 95% confidence interval = [0.010, 0.020]; indirect effect 2: β = 0.041, 95% confidence interval = [0.037, 0.045]) had a stronger predictive ability for the level of insomnia through the level of IA than males (indirect effect 1: β = 0.014, 95% confidence interval = [0.009, 0.018]; indirect effect 2: β = 0.037, 95% confidence interval = [0.033, 0.041]).

CONCLUSION

IA can exacerbate insomnia in college freshmen by compromising their ER, subsequently triggering anxiety symptoms. The process differs by gender, suggesting tailored strategies for each. These findings may play crucial roles in promoting the physical and mental well-being of college freshmen.

Gender mediates the mediating effect of psychological capital between physical activity and depressive symptoms among adolescents

Adolescents develop rapidly, are sensitive to external environmental pressure, and are prone to depression symptoms. Physical activity has been identified as a protective factor for depressive symptoms. Psychological capital is strongly associated with depressive symptoms, and gender has been identified as a potential protective factor. For adolescents in early adolescence, the complex relationship between these factors needs further study. The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of psychological capital between depressive symptoms and physical activity in adolescents, and the moderating role of gender between the two. Physical activity, depressive symptoms and psychological capital were measured by Physical Activity Rating Scale (par-3), Central Depression Scale (CES-D) and Psychological Capital Scale (PCQAS) in 1146 adolescents. The proposed relationships were tested using models 4 and 14 of the structural equation model, respectively, for mediating and regulating effects. Physical activity was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms and positively correlated with psychological capital. Psychological capital was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms and mediated the relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms. Gender effectively modulates the latter half of the mediated model pathway. In adolescents, especially girls, depression symptoms can be alleviated and prevented by increasing daily physical activity and positive psychological capital reserve.

Child psychological maltreatment, depression, psychological inflexibility and difficulty in identifying feelings, a moderated mediation model

Child psychological maltreatment has a strong relationship with college students' depression. However, the potential mediating and moderating variables between the two need further exploration. This study collected subjective data of college students from two universities in China through a cross-sectional survey, including variables such as child psychological maltreatment, psychological inflexibility, difficulty in identifying feelings, and depression. Through correlation analysis, a mediation model and a moderated mediation model were constructed to explore the interrelationships among the variables.The research results show that there is a significant positive correlation between child psychological maltreatment, psychological inflexibility, difficulty in identifying feelings, and college students' depression. Moreover, psychological inflexibility plays a mediating role between child psychological maltreatment and college students' depression, while difficulty in identifying feelings significantly moderates the relationship between child psychological maltreatment and college students' depression. This study reveals the significant associations among child psychological maltreatment, psychological inflexibility, difficulty in identifying feelings, and college students' depression. These findings remind us to pay attention to the potential mediating role of psychological inflexibility and the moderating role of difficulty in identifying feelings when exploring the relationship between child psychological maltreatment and college students' depression. These results provide a new perspective for understanding the psychological mechanism of depression and offer potential targets for prevention and intervention.